With respect to Mrs. Khan, Trump was asked by Maureen Dowd on Saturday what was his reaction to "the poignant appearance of Muslim lawyer Khizr Khan and his wife" at the DNC. Did Trump respond by acknowledging Capt. Khan's sacrifice or offer words of support for these Gold Star parents? Nope, instead he answered with one sentence: "I'd like to hear his wife say something." (How would his wife saying anything change in any way Capt. Khan's sacrifice or his parents' loss?!)

And then Trump upped the criticism of Mrs. Khan in an interview with George Stephanopoulos scheduled to air Sunday morning: "If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me."

It's not clear if Trump, who has called women "pigs" and "dogs," is suggesting Mrs. Khan didn't speak because of his twisted view of Muslim women or because she didn't agree with the words her husband had uttered. Trump now wants us to believe he is concerned about women speaking when just a few days ago at press conference he barked at NBC reporter Katy Tur to "Be quiet" because he didn't like the questions she was asking. (As an aside, if Trump thinks Muslim women aren't permitted to speak, he will be shocked to discover that nine Muslim women have served as leaders as their respective countries, from former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to the current president of Mauritania, Ameenah Fakim.)

It's appalling that Trump would take a shot at a grieving mother. But that's Trump.

In reality, Mrs. Khan was on the stage Thursday night because her husband asked her to be there to offer him moral support. As Mr. Khan explained in a joint interview Friday night to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, his wife of 40 years provides him strength, noting, "I'm much weaker than her.""